Stephen King complaint spurs newspaper subscription drive

FILE - In this May 22, 2018 file photo, PEN literary service award recipient Stephen King attends the 2018 PEN Literary Gala at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. A Maine newspaper that horrified author Stephen King by dropping its local book review coverage is using his complaint to boost digital subscriptions. King on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019, complained about the Portland Press Herald‚Äôs decision to stop publishing freelance-written reviews of books about Maine or written by Maine authors and urged his 5.1 million Twitter followers to retweet his message.(Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

PORTLAND, Maine — A Maine newspaper that horrified author Stephen King by dropping its local book review coverage is using his complaint to boost digital subscriptions.

King, who lives in Bangor, complained Friday about the Portland Press Herald's decision to stop publishing freelance-written reviews of books about Maine or written by Maine authors and urged his 5.1 million Twitter followers to retweet his message .